Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I'm starting to get nervous for next semester. I keep thinking about how I'm going to manage my schedule and so far it just overwhelms me. It doesn't help that I only have half of the details. I keep trying to get ahead on my homework thinking that it'll relieve some up coming stress. (How do you even get ahead on homework that hasn't even been assigned yet?) I feel like the small free moments in my life are going to be consumed with driving to where I need to go. Whether that's Provo, American Fork, or Murray, I'm going to be in the car a lot. Yay..... Last semester seemed so easy. By the end I was questioning all the stories of "my life will be taken over and consumed, and it's challenging", blah blah blah that I had heard. But things will probably whip into shape now that I have 1 1/2 jobs. (The 1/2 is a clinical study that I'm in which means I get to fit in a drive to Murray once a week.) It's okay. I'm so grateful that I'm finally earning some money now. It's been desperately needed and is immensely appreciated. Oh to wonder how life would be if I was actually getting paid for the 24 hours a week of hospital work I put in.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Monday, December 19, 2011

I really wanted to upload the song I Pray on Christmas by Harry Connick Jr. It's one of my favorites. But alas, there are no good youtube videos, only random family slide shows.
So instead I'm going to share two absolute classics, sung by the originals with pure emotion.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

I'm trying to cook more meals while I'm living at home. I have time, I don't have to pay for the ingredients, and I don't have to cook for just one person. It's a win win situation. Here's what I tried out yesterday.
Stuffed Chicken Breasts Italiano and Bloomin' Onion Bread.

I was slightly uncertain about how things would turn out as I was preparing the main dish. But it was really good actually. And easy.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts Italiano

4 lg skinless, boneless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz. container ricotta cheese

2 T each of chopped ripe olives, Italian parsley, and chopped onion

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 can Prego pasta sauce

1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pkg. (12 oz) fettuccine pasta, cooked and drained

Carefully slit a lengthwise "pocket" in each chicken breast, starting at the thick side, and cutting approximately 3/4 of the way through the width of each breast. Season the inside and outside of each breast with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, combine ricotta cheese with olives, parsley, onion and garlic salt. Place approximately 1/4 C. of this filling into the pocket of each chicken breast. Arrange stuffed chicken breasts in a 9X13 baking pan and cover with pasta sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is done. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top; return to oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve on fettuccine pasta, garnished with sprigs of Italian parsley, if desired.

So the recipe said it serves 4 but that's only if you each eat one of those huge chicken breasts. I'm going to say it feeds more around 8 people or so.

The Bloomin' Onion Bread recipe was found here at this site. I'm not really a fan of sourdough bread but this was fantastic. We didn't use poppy seeds and it turned out just fine. The trick though is cutting the bread. It's a pain. Also serving it proves slightly tricky but eventually everyone just rips pieces off for themselves.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

I've noticed that when I become interested in a new Broadway, I suddenly take at least three times as long to do absolutely anything. The time I take to get ready extends itself to fit the length of the CD. And right now I'm interested in two Broadways. Expect me to take my time with things as I listen and memorize music. I know it sounds ridiculous but you really have to give your attention to the CD in order to understand the story. You have to pull up the synopsis of the story with the lyrics on another screen. You get stuck on songs with superb melodies and harmonies. You wish you already knew all the words so you could sing along. It's a process.
Let me introduce you to what has my attention wrapped around its' musical finger:

Monday, December 5, 2011

Sunday, December 4, 2011

For the past two months my Sunday rotations for my program have fallen on fast Sunday. And in my weakness I decide not to fast so that I can have energy to work at the hospital. But today I was able to come to my singles ward and hear some amazing testimonies. Home singles wards are never looked upon with excitement. No one wishes that they were living at home attending the singles ward. But as with all things, there is good. And you have to give yourself time to find it. I sat by myself a lot when I first moved in. I hardly knew anyone and the people I did know were more of acquaintances instead of good friends. But I decided to put myself out there and try going to the family home evenings. The Lord responded to that decision by calling me as a FHE coordinator. I know a few more people now. I have friends to sit by and talk to. I'm starting to remember names. And even though I still have times where I sit by myself, where I feel like I go unnoticed, Heavenly Father is always so good and sends me little reminders, little pick me ups through the members of the ward. Whether it's a text message from a good friend I made in the singles ward or a compliment on the FHE activity from the other night, I am reminded that I have people caring about me and watching over me.
I really do have a pretty good ward. There may be some things I wish were a little different but I have an amazing bishop, people that come to fhe and enjoy themselves, people that get up and share sincere testimonies, and now some actual friends that I look forward to seeing.
Again the saying comes to mind: "you find what you look for".
As much as people dislike the home singles ward, it is only because they haven't given themselves the time or opportunity to see the good in the church and the members of the ward.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Sunday, November 27, 2011

If you don't already know this about me then just understand that sometimes I look at something and decide that I could probably do that if I tried. So I do. Example.Example. Example. Example. Example. Example.
Guess what I've gotten my hands into now?
Cake Decorating.
Yup.

I made my first attempt cake yesterday night/today.

Crumb coating.

I didn't have the right size of coupler but I didn't realize that until it was already in the bag with frosting... So duck tape came into the rescue to help me with the piping.

Are you slightly impressed?

I feel good about this being my first decorative cake. Granted the frosting is kind of messy looking, but this was my very first time piping frosting.

I found the idea for the decorating here and decided that since those flowers are pretty forgiving, it would be a good first attempt idea.

Frosting recipe was a Buttercream Icing which was really good. But the recipe hardly makes any. Of course I used a ton for the flowers but with one batch it wasn't enough for the filling and crumb coating, let alone adding all the flowers on top.

It was a really fun experiment! I would love to take some classes though, just the basics so I'm not stumbling around like a chicken with its' head cut off. There are so many details!! What kind of cake? What kind of filling? What frosting? Colored? What decorations? If you want the flowers to harden then it's one recipe, if you want them to soften up then it's another. What freaking frosting recipe is good?! What tip to use for piping? Remember how painting is a complete art and science all it's own? Cooking decorative cakes is exactly the same way. There is so much that goes into planning a cake.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

I just finished reading a book called Seven Miracles that Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope, by Christ Stewart and Ted Stewart. At times I get so frustrated with our country, our education system compared with other countries, some of the people leading our government, the debt that we are in... it's hard to appreciate the greatness of this land. This book helped me gain more of an insight and a better appreciation for the things that have happened here. It showed without a doubt God's hand in preserving this nation. In every single miracle, men were guided by a divine intervention. It's clearly seen. Our nation truly is blessed. The author made an interesting note at the end of the book. He said, "A person might ask, by what right do any people claim that God would select a particular people or country for special blessing? It is important to understand that He accomplishes this not by diminishing other nations, but by lifting a nation up. And if He raises up a nation, it is with the expectation that that nation will then lift up others."
The seven miracles they talk about are these:
-The Miracle of Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
-The Miracle at Jamestown
-The Miracle of a Summer Fog
-The Miracle of Our Constitution
-The Miracle of Abraham Lincoln and the Battle of Gettysburg
-The Miracle at Midway
-The Miracle of a Fraction of an Inch

You'll have to read to the book to find out what these all mean, but here are a couple quotes from great leaders in our country.

John Adams observed, "I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in or to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain."

In a speech to congress in 1862, Lincoln encouraged his colleagues not to become discouraged: "We know how to save the Union. The world knows we know how to save it. We - even we here - hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free... We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth."

Monday, November 14, 2011

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Do you remember this book I was reading? Well I finally finished it today. It's taken me well over a year to read (mostly because I only read a few pages every Sunday) but I'm grateful for this book. I'm grateful for the lives that my ancestors have lead. I'm grateful for their examples. Let me share with you some excerpts from the book.

While a POW, Forrest Packard kept track of the days of the month and on the first Sunday of each month he would fast. He would give his allotted portion of food to another POW whom he felt needed the food for then he did.

Esther Packard had 11 children to support alone. Ward and stake priesthood leaders came to exempt her from paying tithing during the time her husband was a POW. Her answer was, "You wouldn't deprive me of that?" She then pointed to her eight boys, "with eight strong boys like these? And you want to deny me the blessings of tithing?" During all the rough times, she always paid her tithing.

Esther Packard also said, "I am even thankful I have two babies dead, that I may have the privilege of raising in a time when sin and temptation will have no place."

Forrest was given a blessing May 8, 1941 in the Hawaiian Temple before leaving to Wake Island. "Brother Packard, I bless you that you will return to your loved ones unharmed and in happiness after much trial and hardship. Your family will be in good condition and their number increased. You will be blessed on land and sea. Eventually you will return and find your family chain unbroken."
Forrest was also told in his blessing to obey his temple covenants. Many on the other men worked in shorts with no shirt. Forrest wore bib-overalls, a shirt and his metal hat. It was said that Forrest would hook his thumbs in the straps of his overalls and smile at you as he talked. On a side note, there was a heat wave in Wake Island soon after Forrest arrived, and no wind to cool them down. But he never strayed from obeying his temple covenants.

Forrest was caught between some of the buildings when the bombs started to fall in Wake Island. He heard a small voice tell him to lie down. At first he hesitated but the voice said as clear as day, "Fall on your face." So he fell down on his face until the bombing was over. In one direction 60 ft. away a bomb had dropped, in another direction 90, in another 120 ft. He was surrounded by bomb craters. A coworker did not lie down and was mowed down by shrapnel. If he would've remained standing, he would have been killed.

Esther wanted to continue carrying out the traditions she and Forrest had started. She prayed for guidance and help. The answer she received was to play games with her children. As a result she had two purposes; first, to improve herself and her own skills so that she could earn a livelihood, and second, to spend every possible moment "living it up" with her family.

Esther would play games with them every night, often until 1:00 AM or later. While they were playing, she would teach the principles of the gospel in an atmosphere that was easy to accept. There wasn't much arguing - if there was, Esther would stop the game. One time when they continued to bicker, Esther threw the game into the fire and burned it.
Bill Packard said, "A team of horses couldn't have pulled up away from home. If there was a choice of playing with mom or our friends, we always chose mom."

Forrest never did any wheeling and dealing when it came to the Red Cross boxes and trading. He just exchanged with the fellows the things he did not use for useful food. He did not take advantage of the others.

Esther would encourage her children when they had the hard farm work. "She would keep encouraging us to do it, so we developed the attitude that we could." Someone would have to ride the cultivator in the raspberry patch so it would get down in the ground. They would get all scratched up from the vines. Floyd said it was a "miserable, miserable job, but we did everything we could to make things work, because our mother convinced us we could."

"Probably the only time Forrest was beaten was when he was defending another, or when he would be working and the workload was such that he couldn't carry his load." - Lloyd Nelson

Even with all the abuse, Forrest did not have ill feelings about the Japanese people as a whole - "just certain individuals were bad." He never said anything bitter about them. He never called them Japs, but Japanese. He tried not to turn against them even though he was certainly hit and abused during his internment. A common sentiment by the former POWs was that Forrest did not become hateful or hostile; he didn't become bitter or antagonistic toward the Japanese. We learn a great lesson from Forrest: It is possible to overcome obstacles harassment, and abuse we may face without losing our dignity and goodness. And we can face prejudice without becoming prejudiced in return.

Forrest's personality was tempered by his experiences as a prisoner. His faith was strong. Every survivor who knew him said he was a good man; a spiritual man; a peacemaker; a man of sterling character; a man who lived his religion; a man who helped many others survive their prison ordeal; a truly great man; a man who quietly relied upon his Heavenly Father for the strength to endure those terrible indignities.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

People surprise me.
Steve is one of the techs at the hospital that works graveyard shifts. He's older, a grandpa actually with 15 grandchildren. But he's also so nice and helpful when I work the swing shifts. The other night he brought in some of his paintings that he did in Zions National Park and also a portrait of his son. Blown away. That's what I was. It was like he was a double agent living this night life of x-ray tech while painting the days away. He teaches an art class in Provo. He told me that he's always looking for models to come in for his class to paint. (Portraits mind you.) I was immediately interested for reasons that I wasn't quite sure of at the time. It sounded like a new opportunity to do something (slightly strange) that I had never done before. If anything, I would most likely just get an intriguing story from it.

The class is held above a cozy little art shop on the corner of Center Street and Freedom Boulevard in Provo. The tables were splattered with paint and easels were stacked in the corner. There were only a few of us. I'm guessing the other students were intimidated by the idea of painting a portrait so they didn't show up. I don't blame them.

It's amazing and humbling to find out how much you really don't know about something. For one, the beginning process of painting a picture. The questions and preparations astound me. Lighting? Plain white canvas or painted canvas? Colors to use? Method? Sketch with pencil or paint? Placement on the canvas?

Steve likes to prepare all of his colors first. It's a mathematical equation mixing those colors. It's a science, an art. Understanding color and then being able to see it takes skill I don't understand and can't explain.

I feel like I can hardly describe in an adequate way the learning I gained just by being a model for this small art class. I wish people would take more time to understand the complexities and skills of other hobbies and trades. There is so much that goes on under the surface of everything we do. I'm starting to understand that with my x-ray program. Especially with my physics class in learning how exactly x-rays are made, how they interact with matter, with film. How kVp and mAs affect the type of x-rays you're producing. There's so much more then just pushing a button. There's anatomy, understanding body placement and positioning, physics and pathology.

I want to learn and understand everyday. I want to try out new experiences. That's what I loved so much about being a portrait model for this art class - the opportunity to be around something I don't understand, to see the process. It was a new experience. One that most people have never done. (Of course everyone I told about modeling for an art class looked at me weird with that I-hope-you're-modeling-nude look.)
But it gave me an appreciation. One: for the people capable of such art and two: for the opportunity that people have to enjoy the arts. John Adams once said, "I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain."

Sunday, October 30, 2011

I have never been to a haunted house or a haunted corn maze. I have a hard time thinking of something I want to dress up as and finding a costume. I don't know if I care incredibly much for Halloween parties because it seems like an excuse for girls to dress up like skanks. I don't like scary movies and the only scary stories I look forward to are my Grandma Croslands'. But do you want to know what I love?
Pumpkins.
I love everything about pumpkins in the month of October. Carving pumpkins, eating pumpkin seeds, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins. So amazingly delicious.
A couple years ago my family invested in a second garden located in a community garden location. We've been growing mostly our corn and pumpkins there. And for the past two years I've been up in Rexburg during Halloween which means I have missed pumpkin greatness. Well, this year I wasn't going to miss out and we were going to have a fantastic pumpkin episode. We ended up having 88 pumpkins grown this year. Most of them were on the smaller scale but they looked fantastic spread out all over in our yard.

Brilliant right?
Well just wait until you see what we've carved.
(Warning: lots of photos coming up.)

Boogie Man carved by: Nate

Smiley Jack and Sally carved by: Megan

Boo carved by: Amie

3 Pumpkin Tower carved by: Dad

Michael Jackson and Thriller carved by: Megan

Zero carved by: Megan

Angry Birds carved by: Nate, Megan, and KaLee

Neytiri from Avatar carved by: Mom

Cheshire Cat carved by: Natalie

Mad Hatter carved by: Megan

Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog carved by: Nate

Angry Birds carved by: Amie and Grandpa Packard

Batman carved by: Heather

Jolly Rogers carved by: Jake

Pretty sweet huh? I enjoyed myself and I've gotten my fill of pumpkin carving for the year. Time now to make some goodies.
I hope the trick-or-treaters enjoy our display.
Happy Halloween :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I was reminded the other day of the correlation between hope, faith, and assurance. It's a thought that has stuck with me throughout my religious classes and I find myself consistently coming back to it.

Define:
Hope: to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. To believe, desire, or trust.

Ether 12:4 "Whoso believeth in God might with a surety hope for a better world, yea even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith."
Ether 12:32 "Wherefore man must hope or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared."

Define:
Faith: To hope for things which are not seen, but which are true. To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone.

To me, hope is a level of faith. You cannot have one without the other. Moroni 7:40-42 says, "How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope."
Hope is a level of faith which then leads to action.
You should have hope (desire and look forward with reasonable confidence) in the atonement of Christ, in the power of the resurrection. By first desiring and looking forward with confidence you gain the level of faith that will lead to action.
Helaman had faith in the Lord during the war period, which led to hope of deliverance through Christ. Once he had this faith he took courage and it led to action.
Faith = Hope = Assurance.

Romans 15:13 "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost."
Faith and hope will enable us to act and to be filled with the Holy Ghost giving us assurances. Acting is a present thing which leads to assurance in what the future holds. As we look to the past we see evidence of the Lords blessings which will give us faith and hope in what we are doing in the present, leading us to act.
Action = present.
Assurance = future.
Evidence = past.

Faith
Hope
Assurance

(I think one of my favorites things of the gospel are the correlations between everything. It reminds me of this post.)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Remember how Borders was having their 90% off sale and I bought that ridiculous CD? Well, I also bought a couple of books and so far they have been a complete success! The best $1.50 I have ever spent. Let me introduce you to Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. "I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child. My parents were not alcoholics, nor were they ever divorced or dead. We did not live in poverty, or in misery, or in an exotic country. I am not a misunderstood genius, a former child celebrity, or the child of a celebrity. I am not a drug addict, sex addict, food addict, or recovered anything. If I indeed had a past life, I have no recollection of who I was. I have not survived against all odds. I have not lived to tell. I have not witnessed the extraordinary. This is my story."

I think that's what I love the most about this book. The way that she's completely ordinary. And also the fact that she has a fantastic writing style. Here are some posts that I connected to...

TAKING UP SOMETHING NEW
"When I take up something new - say knitting, or the Nordic-Track - there's a period of time where I think, Who knows, this may be just the thing for me. From this point on it will be part of the way people define me. As in: Oh yeah, Amy, I know her; she's the one who kits those hats. It's galvanizing, this new thing, partially because it is fun and interesting, partly because it is simply new, and largely because of the prospect of it becoming an integral part of my life and identity. I will always have knitting needles with me. I will know all the good knitting stores. I will become an expert on yarn. While there are things that have stuck since I fell into them (I dye my hair red; I like yoga; I am known for concocting salads and dressings), it seems, in many cases, the new things slip right off me. It's as if their sticking were nearly impossible, that to try to adopt them would put me head to head with my destiny."

STUPID SLOW DRIVER
"When I see a really slow driver, I have to pull up alongside him to see what this person looks like, to confirm my suspicions. I am certain I will find a distinctly stupid-looking person. Ah, yes, he looks totally stupid. Stupid slow driver."

DISHWASHER
"It is very difficult to try to load someone else's dishwasher; everyone has their own method. Glasses stacked in this row, bowls this way, silverware facing up, down - it's a highly personal thing. The few time someone outside the family has loaded ours, I open it up and am disoriented, dismayed even, to find plates in the wrong slots, bowls on the top (the top?!), and even a skillet crammed in there. It's just too counterproductive and unsettling, even though it is nice of them to try to help."

ANSWERING MACHINE
"In most cases, it is more satisfying to get a friend's answering machine and leave a cheery, tangible trace of your sincere commitment to the friendship than it is to engage in actual conversation."

CONVERSATION
"Standing in a doorway and chatting is safe; one has, literally and figuratively, an easy out. But the slightest gesture - taking a step in, glancing at a chair in the corner, unraveling a scarf - signals a commitment to a full-blown conversation. Similarly, if one is interrupted while reading a book, a thumb in the book signals an allegiance to the book, and the interrupter should expect only the most cursory reply. But if the book gets shut with a bookmark, or placed down open-faced,, a full conversation will most likely follow."

POTATO CHIPS
"When I eat potato chips, particularly the crunchy kettle kind, I find myself looking through the bag for the good chips. Somehow a good chip is one that is extra thick looking, and curled onto itself or folded, as opposed to straight and flat. It is a treat, a victory, to find a really good chip and pluck it from the bag. The thinner, straight, or broken ones aren't nearly as pleasing.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

CD, New
"I love the moment when I get a new CD and it holds the promise of being the best CD ever - all that potential, so many good songs to fall in love with, the dense liner notes to inspect. But then I realize, This song's not so great, neither's the next one - ew, what's with that harmonica solo? - and in the end I like maybe two songs, love one, and within a few days it disappears under a stack of other loose, orphaned CDs. And going back to those two or three favorite songs - I feel bad listening to them exclusively, that's somehow cheating. I must listen to the CD in its entirety, to not play favorites so to speak, and when those killer tunes come on, well, I've earned the privilege fair and square. This is not unlike my policy of occasionally rotating my least favorite jeans into the mix - There. I wore them. Happy? - and feeling justified the next morning in resorting once again to my beloved worn-in pair."
- Amy Krouse Rosenthal, "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life"

I almost died this when I read this in a book I recently bought because I also decided to buy a new CD with the hopes of discovering fantastic music.
Borders, 90% off, last day of the sale before they completely close their doors.
Of course I'm going to go look around.
They had a tiny little pile of CDs that I was browsing through and I came across one that looked like it had potential. Mind you this is only from looking at the name of the artist, cover art, and song titles. It was a $1.60. I had one of those urges to just buy something at complete random without doing any research into whether the music is even good. I think we've all wanted that at one time or another. Just to buy some CD, underground artist that no one knows about and have it transform itself into your absolute favorite. That's what I wanted. So I bought the CD.
It was the absolute weirdest CD that I have ever heard. I have no words to describe it. His voice is unique but not in the good unique way. You feel like he's swirling you with smoky mist and confusion. There's only one song on there that I can listen to all the way.
All I have to say is I'm very glad I could have this little experience for only a $1.60 and not for the full price that it would have normally been.
Enjoy!

Monday, September 12, 2011

In this next bonsai Grandpa tried to imitate nature by having a branch that was dead from maybe getting struck by lightning. He talked about how we all have our own scars that stay with us throughout our life, but they are also what make us unique and ourselves.

Redirecting branches.

You can see all the precise pruning that has been done on this tree in order to keep the shape.